Patient, Public & Media Information

Sex and Gender in Research

The AAOS Women's Health Advisory Board (WHAB) aims to advocate, advance, and serve as a resource on sex and gender differences* in musculoskeletal health.

*According to the Institute of Medicine, sex is the "classification of living things, generally male or female, according to their reproductive organs and functions assigned by the chromosomal complement," whereas gender is "a person's self-presentation as male or female, or how that person
is responded to by social institutions on the basis of the individual's gender presentation."

WHAB Member List and Staff Liaison/ContactDownload the "Sex in Your Orthopaedic Practice" Power Point (PDF-Read Only): Sexual dimorphism exists in orthopaedic surgery. Orthopaedic surgeons should be aware of sex/gender difference in incidence, presentation, response to treatment. This presentation was created by the AAOS Women's Health Issues Advisory Board to promote awareness of sexual dimorphism in musculoskeletal medicine. (Updated 2013)